2 Samuel

Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible

by Robert Barron

The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible encourages readers to explore how the vital roots of the ancient Christian tradition should inform and shape faithfulness today. In this addition to the series, highly acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian Robert Barron offers a theological exegesis of 2 Samuel. He highlights three major God's non-competitive transcendence, the play between divine and non-divine causality, and the role of Old Testament kingship. As with other volumes in the series, this book is ideal for those called to ministry, serving as a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.

Genres: Catholic, Scripture, Theology

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the former Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org).

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.

Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.

Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.

In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.

Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.

YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.

Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Robert Barron, the author of the commentary on 2 Samuel, needs no introduction. He has reached celebrity status in more than the Catholic realm. Through the use of breathtaking videos and popular culture references, he has made the Catholic faith understandable, accessible, and approachable to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. One cannot ignore the fact that he is actually a brilliant theological mind, which he puts on display in this commentary of the often forgotten Old Testament book - 2 Samuel. Fr. Barron's commentary style is not verse-by-verse, where he analyzes every word for meaning. Instead, he focuses on five overall themes found in the book of 2 Samuel and how each chapter displays the particular theme. The themes are as follows:

1. David Comes to Power
2. Priest and King
3. David and Bathsheba
4. A Sword Will Never Leave Your Home
5. Toward the Temple

While reading this commentary, I was enlightened so much on what I had misread or just glossed over in my past reading of 2 Samuel. Fr. Barron does an excellent job of explaining terminology and phraseology that would have been used for the time, and in doing so, the passages actually started to make sense. He also does a nice job of explaining difficult to understand passages. For example, I always wondered why it was such a sin for David to take a census of the people. Fr. Barron explains that it is the act of a tyrannical king looking to reassure himself of his might and power. The most interesting chapter to me was Chapter 11 where David's story completely turned around with Bathsheba. In this chapter, he explains the sin of David and the shrewdness of Bathsheba. In this chapter, I learned that I had been completely blaming David for what happened and painting Bathsheba as innocent victim. This is not the case. The only victim in all of this was Uriah who was everything David should have been.

After reading through this commentary, I have a greater understanding of the book of 2 Samuel. It is not just some dry historical text, but a deep and beautifully written work that touches on the idea of priesthood; kingship; bad fathering and bad kingship; and the noncompetitive transcendence of God. Fr. Barron explains all of this and more in a manner that is appropriately profound yet easily understood. There are Catholic references in this volume as well as patristic references (like St. John Chrysostom), but it is not just a commentary for Catholics. I honestly wish he would have worked on both 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel in this series, but I guess I will have to buy 1 Samuel and see how the style and scholarship compares to this work. If you are looking for an excellent commentary on 2 Samuel, this one is 5 stars!

[Karen D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you are looking for a private study of the book of Samuel. Bishop Barron breaks down each chapter of 2 Samuel and gives an in depth explanation. It is a good way to do a personal bible study.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baron is brilliant as usual; the depth and breadth of his analysis is amazing.

[Kathleen Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a usual reader of nonfiction, but I am a huge fan of the very articulate and knowledgeable Bishop-Elect Father Barron. He has done a great job with this rather difficult book of the Old Testament. He captures the essence of the story of David and how someone so blessed by God fell so far. Lots of detailed sources and the richness and attention to detail that is Father Barron's trademark. He shares an image of David which is enlightening, tragic and oh so human.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bishop Barron. He writes as he speaks, which is very readable and inspirational. I took copious notes and hope to review it in details in the future.